U.S. woman working to save Siberian street children

By Steve Harrigan
CNN Correspondent

PERM, Russia (CNN) -- There are always some details and impressions that, for a lot of different reasons including limited airtime, don't make it into a report that goes on the air.

In the case of Siberian street children, some of what was left out, for me, might be as important as what went into the report.

If you watch Christina Greenberg, an American, do her work with homeless children from the Russian city of Perm, on six hours of videotape, you will never hear her raise her voice or lose her temper. And despite her small, thin frame, she exercises a remarkable authority over some of the wildest children in the country.

VIDEO CNN's Steve Harrigan reports on the growing problem of homeless children in Russia (May 21) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     HOW TO HELP Go to: Love's Bridge English Goods donations to: Post Box 5886 Perm 614077 Russia     WATCH CNN TV "Siberia's Street Children", 10 p.m. EDT

One detail that did not make it into the report concerned Christina's battles with the local police.

Christina said the children were sometimes beaten by local police, who would break their fingers or hands in the marketplace. On such occasions, she said, she would go down to the police station and "yell and fight for the children, and demand an explanation as to why they had been touched."

Arguing in another language

At this moment, her small frame becomes animated. Anyone who has lived in a country where they speak another language knows how difficult and frustrating it can be to argue in a different language.

To go into a provincial Russian police station as an American and make such charges on behalf of street children takes a lot of courage. I realized that when I looked at her frame, shaking with anger. Here is a person, I thought, determined to do what she thinks is right, whatever the personal cost.

The second point is broader. Christina says the problem is not that Russians do not care about the homeless children, but that the issue is something new for Russia, that it did not exist under the social safety net in the old Soviet Union.

Needs formerly met by the state

She hopes someday to turn the operation over to a Russian staff. The creation of private charity or social welfare groups is not an easy sell in a nation where such needs were taken care of by the state up until just a decade ago, especially once you get outside the capital Moscow, where Western influence and presence is strongest.

It is partly for that reason that Christina says she chose Perm, because it is "the coldest, most forbidding place" that came to mind.

The third point may not matter to anyone but myself. This is a story I think challenges you to think.

Initially, when I saw the children jumping in front of the camera, putting their hands on the lens, my reaction was not altogether different from merchants at the market: Don't touch the camera, stop getting in the way.

Reasons for bad behavior

I felt a little bit annoyed. The point Christina makes with the child whom she admits to regarding as a "demon" initially is this: There is a reason why he acts that way.

Hence, there is a reason why everyone acts the way they do. It may be understanding that gives her the patience and endurance to keep going. It must be a deep understanding.

Finally, a common mistake is to give the reporter all the credit for doing the story, since it is his or her voice on the report.

In this case CNN Moscow Cameraman/Producer John Kluver deserves the lion's share of the credit. Working as a one-man photographer/technician to keep costs low, John Kluver spent several days in Perm hunting for the children alongside the charity workers.

It was his idea, his artistry, his shooting, editing and production skills that made the report happen.